Friends With Benefits
by LadyKatsu
Summary: Miyo is a young Kaiba Corp. employee in the same class as Yugi. When Kaiba says he's willing to fire her father and promote her if she does him a favor, she accepts. All she has to do is get close to Yugi and help Kaiba work his way towards his goal.
1. The Blue Eyes

Authoress here.

I was just thinking this: "Which anime haven't I manipulated yet?" My answer was this: Yu-Gi-Oh! I'm going to have way too much fun with this.

First off, I must ask this: _does anyone know how old Seto Kaiba is?_ I'm assuming Mokuba is about ten or twelve, but I can't figure out how old Seto is based on that. I've tried, and failed. Someone please help!

School's out for the summer!(does a victory dance)

START CHAPTER

Miyo Yutaka, a seventeen-year-old Kaiba Corp. employee, was glaring at a malfunctioning vending machine when she first met her boss face to face. To be completely honest, she wasn't sure he knew she worked there when he swept past, leaving in his wake a faint hint of cologne. His child brother trailed behind him, barely pausing to glance at the teenage girl in a suit. Seto spoke briefly with the secretary, asking her to hold all his calls until further notice because he wanted a board meeting to go uninterrupted.

Miyo's father worked for the company, and it had been his influence that had gotten her the job she desired. She seemed far too young to be employed at the must successful electronics company in Japan, and was positive that her father had pulled more than a few strings on her behalf.

The odd thing about all this was that she disliked her father immensely. He had never believed that she could accomplish anything by herself. When she learned that monetary sums had decided the winner of her childhood sports matches, she had cut off all communication with the man who she had once loved.

Her parents had been divorced for most of her life, and her mother was awarded primary custody. She was supposed to visit her father on weekends, but no longer did.

"Miss Yutaka?"

Miyo turned, her heels clicking on the floor. "Yes?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man who was wearing an expression that showed he felt he was speaking to someone below his level. The vertical stripes on his gray pinstriped suit should have made him appear taller, but nothing could disguise the vast distance between his height and Miyo's tall stature. At six feet even, she was the tallest woman who worked in the entire company, and she used that to her advantage.

"You're wanted in Boardroom Six."

"Why would that be?"

"Mr. Kaiba has decided that he wants to ensure that all of his employees are well-suited for their jobs, Miss Yutaka. Consider it...the census of Kaiba Corp."

Miyo ignored the hint that she was ill suited to be anywhere but a high school classroom. "And my presence was requested instead of my superior?"

"It appears he is ill today," he replied, shrugging his shoulders to feign innocence.

"Thank you, Mr. Kozue." Of course, she had suspected something like this would happen. That was why she was wearing a suit.

She strode away, her black leather heels clacking in a steady rhythm across the deep navy tiles that paved the way to the boardrooms. The large numeral six above the door was more than slightly intimidating to newcomers, but Miyo walked underneath it as though she was passing under an archway.

The room she entered was already almost full. Her lateness, she knew to be the fault of the dumpy Mr. Kozue. In the front of the room, Seto Kaiba was stationed behind a podium.

His cool sapphire eyes flickered to her as she closed the door behind her. "Now that everyone is here, we can begin," he said, his voice carrying a touch of annoyance. He eyed her, clearly waiting for her to excuse herself for keeping them waiting.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Mr. Kaiba. I just received word that my superior is ill today, and I should attend in his place." She gracefully swept a wisp of dark hair that had fallen from where it was pinned behind her left ear. That was as much of a nervous gesture as she would allow herself to do in this situation.

After a brief pause in which Seto considered her excuse, he replied crisply, "Very well. Do not allow this to happen again."

Miyo swept to the nearest open seat, her eyes scanning the crowd. When she sat down, she knew that she was both the youngest person and the only female in the entire room.

Keeping strict attention during a three hour long meeting is not something the typical seventeen year old would enjoy, but Miyo was attentive and serene while others spoke anyway.

Several times when someone was talking about a problem they had seen recently, they had looked accusingly into Miyo's startlingly green eyes. She had replied coolly and professionally that those responsible would be first investigated and if found guilty, educated in the proper means of conduct, kept under supervision, or fired if it applied.

Considering that she had been seen in almost every department in the company at one point, everyone knew who she was. She had gone further in her job than her father had in his, and this time it was without his help.

"Mr. Kaiba, I have a direct complaint about another employee."

This caused Miyo's attention to shift to a thirty-something year old man who stood up on the other side of the room. She quickly set her face to an expression of stony calm. She had the feeling this man could cause trouble. She knew full well who he was. Makai Ronin, the most notorious gossiper in the company.

While her father had paid money to make her think that she was successful, Miyo had learned that money cannot buy you friends. It only buys you a better class of enemies.

"I would like to bring up the subject of Miyo Yutaka."

He was one of those enemies.

Miyo stood up as well, aware even from the distance between the two that she towered over him. "What happened to be the problem?"

He scowled at her pristine manner. "Miyo was hired a year ago when she was only sixteen. I was looking back on the transactions made that day, and I noticed something rather unusual."

"And what would that be?" Kaiba hated it when things occurred without his knowledge, and secret dealings fell into that category.

"Goro Haruki accepted a large sum of money from Kiyoshi Mamoru. Shortly after, Miyo was hired."

Seto's eyes narrowed. "And?"

"Kiyoshi is my father," Miyo said calmly. Eyes settled on her suspiciously. No one had missed the other last name.

"Your parents are divorced?" Seto asked.

"Yes. I took my mother's last name."

"This is not about her mother," Makai snapped furiously. "Goro accepted a bribe to hire her. She is clearly not suited to work at Kaiba Corp.!"

"I am not going to be held responsible for Kiyoshi's actions. He may be my father by blood, but that is all the more connection I have to him. If Mr. Kaiba intends to fire me," she continued, turning to face him. "He'll have to find another reason. I will not be forced from this company for what my idiot father has done."

There was silence after this statement in which Miyo found herself wishing that it was not a weekend. Come Monday, she would be donning her school uniform and heading to class. Until school let out, she worked strictly on weekends. Compared to being grilled in this meeting, sitting next to the current King of Games all day was a breeze.

Her classes were comprised mostly of sixteen and seventeen year olds, and the vast majority of them were nice people. In spite of this fact, Miyo did not have any close friends. She was too much of an outcast for the girls, and the boys simply weren't interested in her. The person that she talked to most often was Yugi Moto, simply because he would answer her questions politely and let her work with him and his friends when they were required to do group work.

They were nice enough people, but chatting with Yugi had become slightly awkward ever since she mentioned that she worked for Seto Kaiba. She should have realized that they did not get along remarkably well and kept her mouth shut, but she had not.

She was brought back to reality with a harsh bump when Seto's voice rang out. "Mr. Ronin, that will be quite enough. Miss Yutaka shall remain an employee, and Mr. Mamoru shall be dealt with. You have wasted far too much time. You are all dismissed."

As they filed out of the room, Miyo couldn't help glancing at her boss. Their eyes met for a moment before she turned away. She could feel his eyes on the back of her head, and she smoothed her loose hair nervously. A chunk fell in front of her eyes, and she swore silently. She had been under the impression that the blue highlights had come out.

The rest of the day was fairly normal until she heard Seto Kaiba's voice from behind her. She turned around immediately.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"

"You go to the same school as Yugi Moto, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'd like to ask you a favor. As you may know, I am the owner of three of the Duel Monsters card, the Blue Eyes White Dragon. There was a fourth dragon, but the owner refused to sell it to me. It was damaged beyond usage in a duel until recently. There is a method in which it can be fixed."

"Excuse me sir, but I'm not quite sure I understand what you'd like me to do."

"I need that card," Seto said quietly. "If you help me get it, I will make you the vice resident of this company, and I will fire your father."

Miyo considered this for a moment. "What do I need to do?"

She swore she saw the corners of his mouth twitch in a half smile. "Become friends with Yugi, and ask the fundamentals of Duel Monsters. He'll be happy to show you, and will probably take you to his grandfather's shop. His grandfather owns that destroyed card. If you play your cards right, you can get close enough to him to figure out where that card is hidden."

"You won't steal it, will you?"

"No. Threatening to demolish his shop will be enough."

Miyo was not entirely happy with what she had to do to Yugi, but if it meant her father would be out of her life forever, it was worth it.

END CHAPTER

The plot will pick up next chapter, I swear. This was just the introduction chapter.

Authoress out and about.


	2. Trouble with Téa

Authoress here.

I always listen to music while I write. Speaking of which, I should really add onto it. All I have is one mix CD, Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, Gravitation, and Avenue Q... (giggles) Clay Aiken! Okay, I'm a freak. Leave me alone! (cowers to escape incoming vegetables)

Sorry I had to reload this chapter, but I caught a typo when I was reading through it that I really couldn't let slip.

START CHAPTER

Mokuba Kaiba leaned back in the plush swivel chair stationed before the company security cameras. His brother had recently been in a meeting, and had then gone to see the teenage girl they had passed by in the lobby. Mokuba couldn't help but feel a bit concerned whenever his brother spoke to someone of the opposite sex. The reason was simple. He was scared that his older brother would find someone else that would replace him. The more rational part of him insisted that it would never happen, but the fear nagged at him from time to time.

He leaned forward and turned the sound receivers on in the camera closest to the pair to listen in to their conversation. His lip reading skills were slightly rusty, so it was probably for the best. He did not want to misinterpret something.

"Excuse me sir, but I'm not quite sure I understand what you'd like me to do." That was the woman. On the screen, Mokuba could see her slight confusion. He had to give it to his brother – this girl was pretty. Even when she was sitting down, he could see that she was nearly as tall as Seto.

"I need that card," Seto said quietly. "If you help me get it, I will make you the vice resident of this company, and I will fire your father."

"What?" Mokuba muttered aloud, his azure eyes widening. _Vice president? But...that's _my _job! _

"What do I need to do?" the woman replied, eyes glinting, her interest awakened.

"Become friends with Yugi, and ask the fundamentals of Duel Monsters. He'll be happy to show you, and will probably take you to his grandfather's shop. His grandfather owns that destroyed card. If you play your cards right, you can get close enough to him to figure out where that card is hidden."

"You won't steal it, will you?"

"No. Threatening to demolish his shop will be enough."

Mokuba smacked his palm down on the control panel button that shut off the sound. He got up and walked out of the room, choosing the best route to meet up with Seto in the hallway.

When he did, he had not prepared what exactly he could say to start a discussion on the issue. "Big brother?"

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto replied.

"I...I heard your meeting with that girl," Mokuba blurted. "I want to know why-"

"Why I said she would be vice president?" Seto interrupted, breezing past the front desk on the way to his office.

Mokuba mutely nodded, trailing a half pace behind him.

Seto smiled down at his younger sibling. "Consider it a business tactic."

"So...she's not going to take over my job?"

"Of course not, Mokie."

Mokuba grinned at the usage of his childhood nickname, and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"I'm going to get the fourth Blue Eyes, Mokuba, and then I'll beat Yugi and prove that I am the better duelist. He won't stand a chance."

Mokuba frowned. "I thought you and Yugi were getting along better now."

Kaiba scoffed lightly. "We worked together before because there was no other choice. He's just another duelist to me now, and I won't hesitate in flattening him."

"Oh...of course."

Miyo, however, had no idea that her boss had not been entirely truthful. She was currently frowning and leaning back in her chair with one hand twirling a bit of hair relentlessly. _I've heard about the fourth Blue Eyes before...but from what I've heard, it was _Seto Kaiba_ that ripped it in half. Of course, he wouldn't tell me that if he wanted it so badly. That would make it look like he was at fault, and no good businessman wants that. _

Her frown deepened, and she rolled closer to her computer. Some research was in order. Given that she did not know the name of the gaming shop Grandma Moto owned, much less _his_ name, searching for it online could prove to be a problem. Then again, as Yugi was the current King of Games, perhaps she could find a fan web page that would provide the address. It was an idea, at least.

A search for "Yugi Moto, King of Games" gave far too many hits to look through, so she just narrowed it to "Yugi Moto." She was pleasantly surprised to find that he did indeed have many rampaging fans who knew everything there was to know about him, from his address to his favorite brand of ice cream.

It was a bit creepy, but if it helped, Miyo was willing to ignore that fact. Soon, she had filled an entire sheet of notebook paper (college ruled, of course) with helpful tidbits that she could use to better her relationship with Yugi.

Being a businesswoman, she planned out conversations in her mind down to the most minute details. How would she react if he asked why she was suddenly talking to him? What if one of his friends saw through the act? Crossing her legs, she mused for quite some time.

She deftly cleared the history of her computer, covering tracks that she doubted anyone would look for anyway, before shutting it down and rising from her chair. She smoothed her straight charcoal skirt and tugged up her nylons discreetly. Brushing the wrinkles from her blouse and picking up her bag, she started the journey down the carpeted hallway out of her cubicle.

That was a sore spot – the cubicle. She was one position away from having her own office and escaping the gray confines of the box she sat in for hours at a time. She ran the fingers of her left hand through her hair until she had located the bobby pin that held her bangs back. She removed it, and shook her head so her short hair fell back into its natural place.

Her hair was something else that annoyed people at the company. Short and slightly spiky, the ends flipped out and the longest bits were chin level. Her off-center part was not very professional, but she liked the way it made her bangs sit. On a whim, she had put blue highlights in her hair that were supposed wash out in one shampoo. After that, she vowed never to trust hair dye again. Six weeks had passed, and she thought they had finally come out. She was wrong, of course.

She exited the building, ignoring the look she knew the secretary was giving her. Needless to say, everyone knew what had gone on in the meeting earlier, and her popularity had taken another dive. Casting a final glance back at the security camera placed to watch the parking lot, she headed home for the day.

By the time she arrived home, it was ten o'clock. She removed her key from her bag and unlocked the front door quietly. Her mother was already asleep, so she was trying not to awake her.

That task was proven to be difficult when she attempted to make a frozen pizza for dinner and forgot to remove the cardboard. Her mother awoke to find her frantically opening every window on the first floor of their home and fanning the smoke out.

Since her hair smelled like burnt cheese by the time she was done eating, Miyo had to shower before she went to bed, cutting the amount of sleep she got substantially. Despite having short hair, she was a hopeless case for being fast.

The hot water made her sleepy, and she collapsed into bed almost immediately after she left the bathroom.

An absurdly loud alarm clock awoke her the next morning, and she slapped her hand on the snooze button to silence it. When it went off a short nine minutes later, she dragged herself out of bed and into her school uniform. She then left to walk to school without bothering to eat breakfast. Food early in the morning made her sick.

Chatter entered her ears as Miyo headed into her classroom. She started to walk towards her seat, and paused. Several of Yugi's close friends were clustered around his desk, and one of them was sitting in hers. She hesitated a moment before walking over and placing her bag underneath.

The boy seated there took the hint. "Sorry 'bout dat."

Miyo smiled pleasantly. This strangely accented blonde boy had just given her the chance to join their conversation. "You don't need to apologize for sitting down to talk to Yugi. You're a friend of his, right?"

"Yup. Joey Wheeler." The boy stuck out his hand for Miyo to shake.

"I'm Miyo Yutaka."

Joey grinned. "I know. Yug's mentioned you."

_Has he? _Miyo thought, suppressing a smile.

The brunette girl seated on Yugi's desktop also decided to introduce herself. "Téa Gardener. And these two are Tristan... " She gestured to a boy with a spiky haircut. "And Bakura," the one with long white hair.

"It's nice to meet you all," Miyo replied. _Even though I couldn't care less who you are. Yugi is the only one I need to befriend. _

This attitude may have been the reason Miyo did not have many friends, but she was not going to admit to _that_ anytime soon.

The bell rang, signaling to beginning of class. One after another, Yugi's friends filed to their seats, and Miyo shifted nervously. They were alone...sort of. Miyo generally ignored the people around her anyway, so they did not pose a problem.

_Maybe I should just outright say that I'd like to be his friend? _Miyo mused thoughtfully, biting the end of her ballpoint pen. Only when the teacher gave the assignment and informed the class that they would have to work in pairs did Miyo remove the pen from between her teeth.

She glanced hopefully to her left, and found that Yugi and Joey were already paired up. She turned in her seat. Tristan and Bakura were, too. Miyo resisted sighing heavily when Téa approached her.

"Do you already have a partner?" Téa asked, her azure eyes looking hopeful.

Miyo shook her head. "No. But you can work with me," she added hurriedly. Even if she didn't want to, Miyo would have to be polite to this friend of Yugi's, even if it wasn't in her nature. She could ruin everything.

The pair got to work, and Miyo was overjoyed when the class ended. It wasn't that Téa was a bad person, she and Miyo just did not see eye-to-eye. Téa was too nice, too easy to walk all over. Miyo was cold and struggled to act polite. Truly told, Téa was the better girl of the two to be friends with, but Miyo chose to ignore that fact.

She hefted her bag to her shoulder and turned to leave the classroom when the familiar bubbly voice made her stop.

"Wait! Miyo!"

Miyo counted to ten rapidly and turned around, her faux but convincing smile plastered on her face. "Yes?"

"We have the same next class. Let's walk there together!"

"Sounds great!" Miyo replied enthusiastically. _I can't take much more of this!_

Yugi and the others caught up shortly afterward, and they headed to class together. No matter how hard she tried, Miyo could not seem to get out of talking to Téa. It annoyed her that a part of her wanted to be friends with this strange, friendly girl, despite their obvious differences.

Soon, another day had passed without her accomplishing her goal of befriending Yugi. Téa, friendly as ever, invited her out with them, but she politely declined. _Kudos to Téa. She didn't even ask for an excuse,_ Miyo though, slightly irritated.

That evening, Miyo spent hours working on her homework to make sure it was prefect. Téa had seemed smart, too. Miyo did not like being beaten at anything, and whether or not she would admit it, she was competing against Téa and all the others for Yugi's attention. She did not intend to lose, either. That meant not losing at anything, grade-wise or anything else.

It was midnight before she had put the finishing touches on her homework, so she showered and blow-dried her hair quickly before falling into bed.

She had the sinking feeling that she was going to fall into the habitual rut of chatting with Téa and not Yugi. Putting it out of her mind, and rolled over and fell asleep.

END CHAPTER

I hate Téa's name. I have set my computer so that when I type "Teea" it auto corrects it to Téa. I hate accents! I'm also trying very hard to not make any of the characters too OCC.

Happy Fourth, everybody! Even those of you who don't live in the US!

Authoress heading off to blow up a small portion of her backyard.


	3. The Spy

Authoress here and ready to ramble needlessly.

Somehow, I just cut myself on my desk. That hurt a little.

I just recently finished reading an update of JewelValentine's _Crossing of the Ways _(forgive me if I wrote the name wrong, I'm not online and can't check), and I'm now in the mood to make Mokuba a little more involved.

START CHAPTER

Miyo was irritated. Not only could she not brush off Téa for fear of wrecking things with Yugi, but she was actually beginning to wish that she didn't exist.

It was ten o'clock, and Miyo was seated in her second period class listening to Yugi and Joey chat during work time. Another partner activity lead Miyo and Téa together, and she found herself counting to ten before every reply.

Téa was too friendly. She did not seem to take into consideration that once she was out of school, it would become a very cruel world indeed. Having already tied down a fairly admirable position at Kaiba Corp., Miyo knew that sometimes you had to be less than nice to get what you desired.

That was also how she functioned. Anyone who couldn't help her in life was an obstacle that deserved to be avoided. For the first time, Miyo had encountered a person she could not just brush off.

Now, as they sat in World History and reviewed before a test, Miyo was almost twitching. The fact that Téa was still living in the childish perfect dream world that Miyo had long accepted did not exist made them far too different.

Another thought also occupied her mind. Kaiba had said that he would fire her father and make her vice president, but she knew perfectly well that the younger Kaiba brother already had that position. Seto would not fire his brother or even drop his position down to something else. That meant that half of the offer he had made was a lie.

"What did you get for question eight?" Téa asked suddenly. Oops. She had forgotten that she was in history class.

Her mind was brought back down to earth with a sharp bump. "What?"

"Question eight."

"Oh." Miyo glanced at her paper. _Question eight. Explain the significance of the Iron Curtain. _She frowned. History sucked, especially when mixed with a bubbly Barbie doll that she couldn't rip the head off of.

That was the main reason she was happy when the beeping of her alarm early Saturday morning awoke her. She found herself smiling as she pulled on her work clothes. Saturday. That meant that she wouldn't have to talk to Téa today.

That raised another problem. She had not made any progress in becoming Yugi's friend thus far, and she was right in assuming that Seto Kaiba would be waiting for her for a report.

When she entered her cubicle, seeing him seated on her desk still startled her. She mentally bashed herself for choosing this moment to note that he had very long, slender legs.

"Mr. Kaiba."

He raised his azure eyes to her face. They flickered once to the blue highlight still relentlessly clinging to her bangs, then back to her face.

Before he could speak, she said swiftly, "I suppose you'd like to know about...Yugi and myself." He nodded briskly. "No progress."

"Excuse me?" The coolness of his voice made her spine tingle. "You have an explanation, I presume?"

Miyo straightened. "I do, actually."

"I'm listening," he replied curtly, crossing his legs.

_He should not be able to do that, _Miyo shrieked mentally. "His friend Téa has gotten in the way. I can't brush her off, or it'll ruin everything. I have to be nice to her, but she's blocking my path to Yugi."

"That's it?"

Miyo nodded. Seto uncrossed his legs and rose from her desk. He was taller than her. Not by much, a few inches, maybe, but it was enough. Height was what Miyo used to give her an edge over others. To meet someone taller than her was enough to make her feel slightly uncomfortable.

Seto seemed to notice the change in stature. Miyo had been standing tall, but when he stood up, she began to nervously twist a bracelet around her wrist. Her eyes broke away from his.

Suddenly remembering a thought from earlier that week, Miyo looked up and narrowed her eyes narrowed at her boss. "Sir, I have a question."

"Do you?" He took a seat again, this time in her office chair.

"Yes Sir, I do," she replied, matching the coolness of his tone. She took a step forward and settled herself on her desk. "Mokuba Kaiba, your brother, is already the Vice President of Kaiba Corp. If my suspicions are correct, then I assume that you don't intend to award me that position."

Kaiba chuckled. "I should have expected that you would figure it out."

"And I did. So what now, Mr. Kaiba?" Miyo did not know if she should smile as well. She had caught her boss in a lie, but for some reason, he did not seem remotely concerned. Mixed emotions.

"I guess we'll just have to make some other arrangement. You still want your father fired, am I correct?"

"Yes," Miyo replied with a startling amount of calm. "And given absolutely no recommendation that would make another company want to hire him. A shameful expulsion."

Kaiba placed his elbow upon his knee, and then proceeded to rest his chin on his palm. "You don't seem to like him."

"That's my business."

Kaiba arched a brow at her. "Very well, then. Instead of becoming Vice President, would you enjoy being the head of your department instead?"

The corner of Miyo's mouth twitched upward. That _did_ sound wonderful. The head of her department was none other than Goro Haruki, the man whom her father had bribed into hiring her.

"Goro Haruki will be fired as well, then, or demoted to a common employee?" Miyo asked, her emerald eyes locking on Seto's.

"I shall decide that later, depending upon how long it takes to get the final Blue Eyes."

"Which _you_ destroyed." _Maybe, _Miyo thought, _it's time to level the playing field_.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed now. "What?"

"I know that it was you," Miyo replied haughtily. Kaiba opened his mouth to say something, but Miyo boldly cut him off. "The internet is a wonderful thing, don't you think?"

Seto Kaiba was fairly sure that he had never been quite this irritated before. Twice now, this girl who was younger than him had probed deeper into the situation and figured out two things he was hoping she would not learn.

Miyo folded her arms, allowing him some time to digest this new knowledge. Her expression was that of haughty arrogance, but inside, she was concerned that he would abandon his quest for this Duel Monsters card and just fire her.

Seto finally spoke a minute or so later. "Here's what we shall do, then. You get me that card...or you're fired." He was slightly annoyed at himself for not being able to think of anything better to do, but he was sure that this would get through to her.

Miyo's eyebrows shot up. A small victory to Seto; she hadn't been expecting this. He watched her hands clench on the edge of the desk, her knuckles turning gradually lighter. "I prefer the original deal, Kaiba," she spat, venom dripping from every syllable.

"You'll treat me with respect as long as I am still your boss," Kaiba replied, his voice calm compared to the inner anger at being disrespected such. _That arrogant bitch! Who does she think she is, speaking to me like that? _

Miyo smiled, her eyes drifting to the clock. Lunchtime. "Now you understand what it's like to be the little guy in a big world." She turned and headed off to the cafeteria, leaving a shocked Seto Kaiba seated at her desk.

Mokuba Kaiba took a large bite from the cheeseburger that he had gotten before the cafeteria opened and filled with employees, his eyes focused on the security televisions. He had recently discovered that spying on people was quite entertaining, and had dismissed the previous holder of the job to go play cards on the condition that he did not tell Seto.

His favorite target was quickly becoming a girl named Miyo Yutaka. It was not that she was more interesting than other employees by herself, but she was so unlike other people of her age, that she reminded Mokuba of his brother.

He also delighted in hearing them argue, like a moment beforehand. Miyo was quickly getting on Seto's nerves, and it caused Mokuba to wonder why she had not yet been fired. Seto could surely find someone else better qualified to do the job instead.

He took another bite, sending a spurt of ketchup dribbling down his chin. Ah, the pleasures of being in the only place where he could see everyone and no one could see him.

Seto finally stood up after sitting on Miyo's desk in silence. It was then that he noticed something odd. Normally, his employees personalized their desks to make it more their own, but Miyo's was oddly bare.

In a small picture frame, there was a picture of Miyo as a child in her mother's arms. Seto picked it up, and the picture slipped out. He picked it up hurriedly. Upon closer inspection, the CEO noticed the torn edges along one side. This had once been a family picture. One part of her father still remained in the picture. There was an equal chance of it being intentional and accidental. The left hand of Kiyoshi Mamoru was in the picture, the camera flash making a small shine on his wedding band. He slid the picture back into the frame, and placed it carefully on her desk as close to where it had been as he could remember.

He glanced around for anything else. A thermos, half full, held what Seto presumed to be a large amount of coffee. Plain and silver, it reeked of mass distribution and...peppermint? Seto straightened up from his inspection of Miyo's desk, his eyes on the security camera. So what if he chose to look over an employee's belongings? He was the owner of the company. And yet...

Mokuba jerked back as Seto's eyes stared into the camera, nearly dropping his lunch. His brother would be most displeased to find that he had been spied on. Seizing his drink, Mokuba sprinted from the room. He felt worse with every step he took away from the room. The man he had relieved would either be fired without question, or allowed to tell that the younger Kaiba brother had instructed him.

Thankfully, Seto decided not to pursue the matter, and instead chose to return to his own office to eat a meal provided by a spectacular chef. The invitation had been passed to Mokuba to join him, but due to a guiltily obtained lunch, he chose to pass.

Miyo, on the other hand, stabbed her fork into a pathetically wilting salad. Making a face, she dumped ranch dressing over the sad greenery. Eating health food was not her thing, but salad was the cheapest thing on the menu. With the rest of her life and the quickly fading child support checks in mind, Miyo forced herself to eat.

Kiyoshi Mamoru wouldn't know with hit him. Demoted from a high rank to a common street bum with no recommendation would be the equivalent of becoming a popular male stripper on the Surprise-O-Meter.

But what if Seto did not uphold his part of the bargain, assuming she managed to get the card for him? There was nothing that she could do without admitting that she was doing him a favor outside of work, which would look bad. She could almost see her house being torn down when her paychecks stopped coming.

Her mother had been a marriage counselor, but even her own advice could not prepare her for the repercussions of a divorce. Now working as a teller at a bank, her paycheck did not cover the house payments. Ever since her father had forcibly removed himself from their lives, Miyo had been putting some of her own salary towards paying the bills and purchasing groceries.

She laid down her fork, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore.

Mokuba had long since returned to watching the cameras, his lunch finished and his brother currently occupied with more pressing issues than babysitting.

Miyo Yutaka was headed towards her desk. Knowing his brother had been there previously, Mokuba leaned forward, resting his elbows on a part of the board with nothing that he could bump.

Miyo stopped at the entrance to her cubicle. It was difficult to see what she was looking at, so Mokuba redirected the camera frequency to the big screen television to his right.

The picture magnified. She stepped forward to the picture frame Seto had examined previously. When she picked it up, her hands shook with either rage or fear. The preteen could not tell. Mokuba had already learned, even this early on, that women were complex creatures, and Miyo seemed to be no exception.

Turning his attention back to the television, Mokuba jumped. Seto had just stepped into the picture. Mokuba quickly turned on the volume to listen in on their conversation.

Miyo was the first to speak. "You looked at this picture."

His older brother raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Oh?"

"This isn't where I left it," she snapped. "Don't play dumb with me. You're a terrible actor."

It was like a soap opera unfolding before Mokuba's very eyes. He half expected Seto to proclaim his undying love to Miyo only to find out she slept with his best friend and was going to have his child expect he was really Seto in disguise...

"Fair enough, but I believe that anything left on your desk is subject to search."

"Not a picture of my family," she whispered fiercely, her hands shaking. Now Mokuba could place the emotions on her face – anger at him for looking, fear for showing weakness, and a terrible sadness as her mind undoubtedly wandered back to the divorce.

Mokuba knew about the divorce of her parents because, predictably, he had been spying on the meeting where the issue of Miyo's hiring was brought up.

"I'll look at whatever I please," his big brother replied smoothly.

Miyo slammed the picture down on the desk, and proceeded to flick him off. "Then look at this, Kaiba," she snarled. "I don't care if you're my boss. Keep your nose out of my business."

"Bold words for a child I cold easily fire," he countered, his indigo eyes narrowed.

His choice of words – "child" instead of "girl" or even "woman" when she was nearly his age – angered her possibly more than his intrusion into her personal life.

"I am not a child, Mr. Kaiba. We're nearly the same age. The only difference is that you're the head of the company, and I'm...and employee."

Seto smiled. "And don't forget it if you'd like to remain an employee."

Miyo's jaw clenched. Ignoring the nagging voice that proclaimed loudly that she would have a stress related heart attack if she didn't learn to control her temper, Miyo sat down in her office chair and turned so her back was to him.

Typing in her password to unlock her computer from the screensaver, Miyo continued, her businesslike tone returning, "I'll talk to Yugi on Monday and then see what I can do. Now leave me alone. I have work to do."

Miyo seemed to be looking at the picture she had smacked on the desk. Mokuba squinted to see the detail that had attracted her attention. The fact that he could not see her face was a problem for Mokuba, so he switched the camera angle.

Although her voice and stature remained unchanged, a single tear slid down Miyo's cheek. The glass on the picture frame was broken, and the crack ran right down the center, cutting the child Miyo, who stood between her mother and what remained of her father, in half.

As Seto left, Miyo and Mokuba both thought he did not know that he had caused her to cry. What neither of them knew was that her computer screen had faded to black due to lack of usage, which had created a mirror. He had seen everything.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Miyo wiped the tear off her cheek and resumed work.

Mokuba shut off the big screen television. For some reason, he did not feel like watching it anymore.

END CHAPTER

Okay, so I made Seto act like an ass. Or...like himself. But at least I had an excuse to flick someone off! My granddaughter would be proud (long story, don't _even_ ask).

Snaps to everyone who shuddered and/or shrieked "Eibs!"

See you next update!


	4. Ahh, the Beach

Authoress here.

(sigh) I'm rather bored and listening to _Special, _an Avenue Q song, in a failing attempt to drown out Cher.

I'm going to try something I tried already in a Yu Yu Hakusho story. If it says a character's name in italics, as such: _Miyo Yutaka_, then the story will be told from her point of view. It returns to third person when the words "Yu-Gi-Oh!" are written like such: _Yu-Gi-Oh! _

Simple!

**START CHAPTER**

_Miyo Yutaka_

After I flicked off Kaiba, I was almost sure I was going to get fired. Even now, typing a report for school that's due Monday, my heart is pounding. I should never have lost my temper like that.

And crying? I hadn't cried in several months before then. It wasn't even that picture cutting my family in half that did it. I think it was Seto Kaiba seeing the picture. I hate it when people know my weaknesses, and losing my father _did_ upset me.

And his hand... Leaving in my father's hand with his wedding band in the picture was, all in all, an accident that I should have fixed a long time ago. But something stopped me every time when I tried to tear him out of my life.

Like a yin-yang, life must be balanced. Maybe casting my father out shattered mine? It embarrasses me that there's a piece of the make believe idealistic world left in my life.

I'll cut him out of that picture tomorrow.

_For now,_ I thought, scooting my chair back and standing up, _I think I'll take a walk_.

_Yu-Gi-Oh! _

In his grandfather's gaming shop, Yugi Moto stretched and glanced at the clock. His friends would be coming over in a few minutes, and they were going to go take a walk along the nearby beach and maybe go swimming.

His thoughts drifted shortly. Téa and Miyo Yutaka had been getting along fairly well all of the sudden. He couldn't help but wonder why. No insult meant to Téa, of course, but he had noticed that Miyo was a rather disagreeable person.

It seemed odd that Miyo would even tolerate Téa. Yugi had seen her blow off other equally nice people in the past. He had also never seen her smile at his friends before.

Having mentioned a lack of sleep, Téa had passed on heading to the beach. Perhaps he could mention his thoughts to the rest of his friends on the subject.

The doorbell ringing was his cue to call goodbye to his grandfather and accompany his friends to the beach, temporarily pushing his thoughts of Miyo and Téa to the back of his mind.

Fairly close to his home, the beach took only a short while to reach. Kicking off his shoes, Yugi sank his feet into the white sand. The moon was out already, the silvery light reflecting off the water.

"Aaah," Joey groaned, sinking onto the sand. "Afta a long day, nothin's as good as da beach."

"Uh-huh," Tristan agreed, flopping beside him and sending a spray of sand into his friend's faced.

Yugi tuned out the resulting argument, his eyes drifting up and down the beach. Suddenly, he spotted a rather tall girl almost on the other side of the beach. _Miyo_?

That refreshed his memory about his earlier thoughts.

"Say guys, do you think Miyo has been acting kind of weird lately?"

Bakura, seated beside him, turned over a stick between his pale hands. "I suppose she has. She was never this friendly before. Why?"

"No reason," Yugi replied with a shrug.

His eyes drifted again to Miyo, only this time, Bakura's followed them. "Is that her?" he asked quietly, sparing a glance back at his friend.

Yugi frowned. "I think so. I can't help but wonder if she's up to something."

"Is it 'cause she works for dat Kaiba?"

Yugi shook his head. "No, that's not why...Kaiba isn't a bad person. She's not a spy or something...but I can't help but wonder why Miyo's been so nice lately."

"Turning over a new leaf, maybe?" Bakura mused.

Yugi shrugged. "Maybe..."

Miyo had not noticed the others down the beach. The wind whipped along the coast, flattening her skirt against her legs. Her attire was not a businesslike as she was used to wearing. A fluttery knee-length skirt paired with a tight tank top showed off her unusually long legs. She was barefoot, her sandals lying abandoned a few feet away.

She raked her slender finger through her hair and sighed. It had been a long time since she had come to this beach. It was usually full of young lovers at all hours of the day, so she was a bit startled to find it so empty.

Due to the shadow of a large oak tree, she could not see Yugi, Joey, or Bakura. Crouching, she scooped up a rock and tossed it into the waves. It skipped three times before sinking.

Miyo fetched her shoes and held them in one hand as she used the other to push her bangs out of her eyes so she could see where she was walking. The moon was beautiful and eggnog colored, and she kept her eyes on it as she walked down the beach through the waves. Her wet footprints were washed away behind her.

Soon, she was only yards away from Yugi, and still could not see him. She skipped another rock before sinking into the sand. Her eyes closed.

So peaceful. So quiet. So...sandy?

Sitting bolt upright, Miyo had time to see Joey running past her and kicking up sand with each step on his way to the water before she was distracted.

Bakura, Yugi's white-haired friend, was chuckling as Yugi and Joey hurled rocks and sand at each other. Without speaking, he sat down beside her.

"I'm terribly sorry about him. He doesn't ever look where he's going, I suppose."

Miyo didn't know what to say. Half shocked, half embarrassed, she sat in silence. Self-conscious of the tight tank top, which now seemed very low cut, and the wind pushing her skirt further up her thighs, she couldn't feel comfortable. She quickly ruffled her hair in an attempt to rid it of the sand, but remained quiet.

Bakura didn't seem to mind her silence. "Beautiful night, hm?"

"Y-yeah. It is," Miyo stammered. _What are you doing? _she cried inwardly. _Don't let him make you nervous just because he startled you! _Drawing herself up straight, she turned to Bakura. "What are you guys doing here so late?"

"I could ask you that as well," he replied, smiling rather kindly.

"I was taking a walk," she replied smoothly, breaking eye contact in time to see Joey dunk Yugi. She chuckled despite herself. "Are they always like that?"

Bakura nodded. "They've been best friends for some time now."

Having never had a best friend, Miyo could only guess at what it was like, but she nodded anyway. "That would explain it."

Yugi surfaced and spat out some water. He shoved Joey under a moment later, then dashed from the water before his friend could get revenge. He went to fetch his towel, and had sat down next to Bakura before even noticing that Miyo was on his other side.

When he saw her, he jumped. She wasn't looking at him so she didn't notice, and for that he was grateful.

"Miyo?"

She turned to him and forced her mouth into a smile. He was usually sitting down when she saw him, so it was now that she noticed how truly _short_ he was in comparison to herself. "Hey, Yugi."

Joey dragged himself from the water, irritably wiping sand out of his hair. "Yuge, ya got sand all ova me!" He blinked a few times when he saw Miyo, then grinned and went to sit with them. "Heya, Miyo."

"Hi, Joey!" she replied in a manner she hoped was both friendly and polite.

She watched color rise to his cheeks as a breeze lifted her skirt and caused it to flutter alarmingly up her thighs. She smoothed it down with practiced calm, as though it had never happened.

She pushed her bangs back, out of her eyes, and casually glanced out into the waves until he had regained his composure. Raising her arms above her head, she leaned back into the white sand and stared at the stars.

Fairly soon, all four of them were on their backs watching the stars flicker millions of miles above them.

The next day at work, Miyo's thoughts were on the beach as she pulled the picture of her family from the frame. She snapped back to reality as the scissors descended upon the glossy photograph. She hesitated only a moment before determinedly snipping her father's hand out of her family forever.

The bit of the picture fluttered to the ground, and Miyo leaned in her chair to pick it up. When she straightened, she jumped. Seto was standing in the entryway to her cubicle. She tossed the scrap into the garbage can before addressing him.

"Mr. Kaiba...may I help you?"

His cold eyes locked onto hers, and his mouth was set in a scowl.

She frowned a reply, and there was a momentary silence. "I suppose you want an apology for my behavior yesterday?" she said slowly.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "No," he said sharply. "I'm here to request that you log out of the computer, as it appears you are the only employee that did not hear the announcement."

Miyo's face turned pink. She had clearly been too absorbed in her family picture to listen when the announcement had been made.

She swung around in her chair and logged out of the computer. When her back was to him, she said quietly, "I apologize, sir."

"For not listening today, or being disrespectful yesterday?"

"Both, sir."

"Keep in mind who is the employee and who is the employer next time you feel the need to be annoying." He smirked, and left her.

_Ass_. Miyo glared at her computer screen.

_You've got mail!_ an obnoxious female voice chimed suddenly, and Miyo's attention was diverted. Clicking the email, she opened at and frowned.

Large, rose colored, bold italics beamed from the screen.

_**Hey Miyo! This is Téa. I got your email from the school address book. **_

_**I was wondering if you were free tonight (Sunday) because I'm planning a sort of surprise birthday party for Yugi. He turned 17 last week, and Sunday was the only day everyone was free.** _

_**If you're stuck for present ideas, I'd say to ask Yugi's grandpa. He knows Yugi's Duel Monsters deck as well as Yugi does, and can tell you what cards he doesn't have. **_

_**Hope to see you at my place, 8:00 tonight!** _

Following that was a P.S. where Téa left her address and phone number in case Miyo got lost on the way there.

Dear God, this girl made her sick. Miyo saved and then closed the email as quickly as she could, shaking her head to rid herself of the signature attached to the end. It read:

_**Smiles are always free!**_

Miyo's jaw had clenched about halfway through the email. A small voice nagged at her to cut work to get him a present, and another shrieked that she wouldn't be welcome at a birthday party where she was just pretending to like all of them.

That voice bothered her the most. If the circumstances were different, she would love to make friends with Yugi, Joey, and Bakura. Téa had already proven herself too different from Miyo to ever get along. Being friends with her was about as likely as Seto rescuing a kitten from a tree for a little boy in an orphanage, then proceeding to donate all his money to charity and living the rest of his life as a hermit in a swamp, flinging profanities at anyone who ventured too close.

Miyo paused to chuckle as that mental image swam in front of her eyes, then went back to the problem at hand.

A gift for Yugi when she barely _knew_ Yugi would prove to be difficult, even with his grandfather's help. Somehow, Duel Monsters cards did not seem like a good present idea. Téa did know Yugi very well, but Miyo got the feeling that he was perfectly happy with his deck the way it was. So then, what _could _she get him?

Trinkets and knickknacks were out of the question. What would he do with them? The same thought applied to most everything she could think of.

_I get off work at 9:00 anyway. It's not as though I could go anyway. _

A sudden thought coming to her, she reached out and printed the email before permanently deleting it from the system.

Seto Kaiba, in his office, cursed as the email before him vanished. He had hacked into her computer system to read it. Scanning the computer, he realized that Miyo had been taught well. She had deleted it quite thoroughly. He hadn't even gotten a chance to read half of the email. All he had gotten out of it was that there was to be a party tonight.

He couldn't let Miyo know she was being watched, either. He had thought something like this might happen. Last night, one of his cronies had spotted her on the beach stuttering and blushing up a storm. This was a problem.

She could not fall in love. If there was one thing that Kaiba knew above all others, it was how to love. His brother held a special place in his heart, and he knew what affection for another could do to you. If Miyo had become entranced by one of Yugi's friends, or even Yugi himself, then there was trouble brewing.

**END CHAPTER**

_Life's gonna suck when you grow up, when you grow up, when you grow up, Life's gonna suck when you grow up, oh wait it sucks right now!_

Songs make me smile!

Except _Frosty the Pervert_. That one's kinda creepy.

Authoress going to sing loudly!


	5. Chemistry

Authoress here.

A few odd things have happened since I last updated (and considering that all of these things were from over a month ago, I _really_ need to update). One, I got a boyfriend! Two...I'm wearing a _skirt_! And three, I did all my homework before 11:30 this morning.

Wow, I'm weird.

_Viva la resistance! _(One month later, and I wonder what I had for breakfast to induce that kind of comment – I'll bet it was a bottle of Bawls or something...)

**START CHAPTER**

_Yu-Gig-Oh!_

"I'm not sure I'm hearing you correctly, Miss Yutaka." Seto Kaiba steepled his fingers and rested his chin on the tips, eyes on Miyo. He was half annoyed and half confused.

"I would like to take off work early today, given that something of importance has come up, Mr. Kaiba," Miyo replied smoothly. "It's something that I can't really skip out on."

"Unless a member of your family has _died_ in the past ten minutes, I cannot permit you to leave early."

Miyo's face registered shock for a moment before she collected herself and forced her mouth into a tight smile. "That's a rather unsophisticated thing to say, Mr. Kaiba," she said lightly. "Considering I haven't told you the reason for my request yet."

Kaiba arched a brow. He knew perfectly well that she was planning to go to Yugi's birthday party, but couldn't let her know that. Part of him felt bad for playing her like a board game with rigged dice, but most of him was having fun evaluating her skills at lying through her teeth. "Did someone die then, Miss Yutaka?

Miyo's expression did not change. "Actually, Mr. Kaiba, my reason is a matter of our private business."

His cold azure eyes settled upon hers. "I see."

Silence followed his remark. Miyo waited for what she dubbed an appropriate amount of time before saying, "Mr. Kaiba?"

"Hmm?"

"Shall I take that to mean that yes, I am allowed to leave early?"

Seto gnawed the inside of his cheek. "I suppose you'll have to," he admitted finally, never once losing his air of grandeur and superiority. "But I expect this absence to be made up."

"How do you propose I do that, sir? I go to school full-time." Miyo brushed her bangs out of her eyes, flinching as she saw the stubborn streak of blue glint under the fluorescent lighting.

Seto watched her react oddly to something in her hair, and for the first time he noticed the faint blue highlights. He bit on the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smirking. Under the rock-hard business structure, she was indeed just a teenage girl, full of the same worries. "You could come in on a Friday night," he suggested coolly.

Miyo frowned a bit. "That's true..." Her mind reeled nervously. No one in her department worked late on Fridays, so she would be alone. Childish fear of solitude in such a large building mixed with the worries of possibly being alone with Seto swirled in her mind, and she could feel heat rising to her cheeks.

Seto was not dense, and noticed her faint blush almost immediately. _She really is just a kid_, he mused. _I do have to wonder what could possibly make her nervous...I can see her hands shaking._ _I wonder if it's me? _he finished, literally biting back a smile. It wouldn't be the first time some girl had practically melted in his company.

She was oddly quick to recover, something that Seto was not accustomed to. "That sounds fine, I suppose."

"You may dress more casually, if you'd like...after all, it will be after actual work hours. Speaking of which, we'll have to set a time. Hmm...I'll be here from seven in the morning until at least midnight, so I think around five o'clock would be fine."

_So he'll definitely be here_. "Perfect," Miyo replied breezily, forcing a smile to her lips. "I'll be here then."

She turned to walk from the office, and Seto could not help himself. His eyes followed her curves as she moved, and he suddenly found himself rather embarrassed. He inhaled sharply before glancing away.

Miyo knit her eyebrows, having heard him, and looked at him over her shoulder to find him intently staring at his computer screen. For reasons that even she could not explain to herself, Miyo's mouth curved upward into a smile. And then, brushing the thought away as if it had the importance of a piece of lint, Miyo left him in his office.

Seto waited until his office door was firmly shut before he banged his fist down on the table. Damn it, he could not allow himself to become distracted by his female employees, especially not Miyo.

Why would Miyo be a problem to him anyway? She was pretty in an ignored, outcast sort of way; he was not blind to that. She was smart, sly and witty, and yet somehow radiated an air of purity and innocence.

Seto was no expert, per se, but he could tell just by the way she carried herself, that no man had ever expressed feelings of love towards her. She could lie with her actions, but not with her eyes. _I should be a writer, _Seto deliberated, reflecting on his thoughts. _Still, her lack of a love live is none of my concern. Why should I care how miserable and worthless one of my employees feels? _

"Big brother?"

If Seto hadn't been raised as he had, he would have jumped at the small voice at his elbow. Instead, he calmly swung his gaze to the boy beside him. "Yes, Mokuba?"

The child proceeded to deliver several documents for Seto to sign. He carefully read over them before signing three and rejecting the last one. Mokuba then left him to his thoughts – or so he would believe. In truth, Mokuba had been listening in the entire time and had watched Seto respond to Miyo's every move in the same way that actors in romance movies did.

He was curious and a bit concerned. Was his brother falling in love? It couldn't be. Seto had never loved anyone in his life, excluding his little brother. What was it that this ordinary girl possessed that set her apart from all the valedictorians and rich girls that Seto had met before? Why did she entrance him?

He frowned as he walked steadily down the hallway back to his office. Miyo and Seto had similarly bad attitudes, so it would be quite awkward for them to go on a date or something of the like. Mokuba could just see the public quarrel that would surely occur, probably over something stupid. He had to smile then. Maybe it would be fun just to see if they had the proper chemistry.

Playing matchmaker was even more fun than spying on his older brother.

In her office, Miyo was mulling over many different thoughts. What should she get Yugi? What should she wear on Friday? Why had Seto looked away? How did Téa get her email? What had possessed her to look over her shoulder at Seto one last time? Why had she smiled?

And why the _hell_ was she spending so much of her time wondering about her boss?

Miyo had never had a crush on anyone before, so even she didn't know that she was steadily falling for Seto Kaiba.

**END CHAPTER**

I know I'm not really allowed to do this, but whatever. Jewel...you don't _want_ the lyrics to Frosty the Pervert. Trust me on this one – you really, _really_ don't.


	6. Duel Monstas

Authoress here.

I update slowly. Which pisses of PenPusherM. And so I get stabbed by her pointy fingernails while being bombarded with a chorus of "update update update" from both her and JewelValentine. You'd think with such...motivation...that I would update faster. But I don't. I'd be sorrier if it wasn't 1:00 AM and if I wasn't trying to tire myself out so that I could sleep.

Tomorrow shall be hell.

**START CHAPTER**

_Yu-Gi-Oh!_

"Shit!" Miyo, ever graceful, stumbled over a chair in her efforts to reach the front door. Her mother was out shopping with some old high school friends, leaving her daughter alone to manage the house.

The doorbell had summoned her, a deafening ring that reverberated up the stairs to her bedroom. Before even opening it, Miyo was fairly sure she knew who it was. Probably Téa. Miyo had made the mistake of letting the boisterous girl know where she lived, and she had already shown up at her door twice that day. The first visit was to invite her to go shopping, and the second was to ask her what she had gotten Yugi for his birthday.

Her mind had reeled when she had gone out shopping for the teen duel master. Surely he didn't need strategy guides or new cards, and a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters would be wasted on him. Doing the next best thing, she had ducked into a music store and purchased a gift card. Hopefully he liked music.

Her hand landing on the doorknob, she pulled it open and stopped dead.

"Hey, Miyo! How are ya?" Joey stood before her, a smile plastered on his handsome face.

Miyo blinked before replying, "Um...fine. How are you, Joey?"

"Great!" the blonde replied, his strange accent hanging on every syllable. "So I was just wonderin' if ya needed a ride to Yuug's party t'night. Tristan's got a motorcycle, but my dad said he'd let me borrow da car 'cause Tristan can't take more dan one otha person."

"Oh. Yeah, that'd be great. I don't even know where Yugi lives," Miyo admitted, abashed.

"Really? Ya mean ya haven't seen his granfatha's game shop?" Joey asked incredulously. "Ya don't know how ta play Duel Monstas then, do ya?"

Miyo shook her head, smiling sadly. "No, I don't."

"I'll have ta teach ya, then! It's only six thirty, so we got at least an hour and a half before we gotta get goin'. I gotta get the car sometime before then, but we've still got some time."

Miyo found herself smiling. Now this was one of Yugi's friends she could get along with for longer than a minute. Hopefully.

"So...trap cards go face down so your opponent can't see them..." Miyo dragged a hand through her hair, staring down at the cards Joey had set down and explained, one by one.

"Yeah! See, you're catchin' on!"

"Slowly," she acknowledged, glancing up at the clock. Seven o'clock. She and Joey had been chatting for an entire hour.

_This is good. If I'm friends with Joey, then Yugi will accept me, no questions asked. He's too trusting._

Despite her ideals of keeping her eyes on the prize, Miyo found herself feeling a little bit sorry for what she was doing. If they wised up to it, then she could find herself in a whole lot of hurt. Yugi and his friends would never trust her again, Kaiba would surely fire her, she and her mother would have to move...

For reasons unbeknownst to her, losing the chance of having friends was her top concern. Being the person she was, Miyo shoved that thought to the back of her mind. _I don't need anyone. I can get by just fine without friends, _Miyo reminded herself.

With these thoughts running through her head, Miyo laid down the card Joey had handed her to examine.

"Joey? Can I ask you something?"

Joey glanced up at her and nodded.

"Does...does Yugi like music?" she asked, figuring it was best to resume conversation on a nice, easy to talk about level.

Joey's mouth broke into a wide grin, and he laughed good-naturedly. "He's totally oblivious when it comes ta music. Why? Ya get him a CD or something'?"

"No, a gift card. I couldn't think of anything else." Miyo continued then, shrugging, "I don't know why Téa invited me. I hardly know Yugi. Actually...I hardly know any of you," she admitted, her voice dropping to be a little quieter.

"Well then, you can hang out wit' me durin' the party so you don't feel too uncomfortable bein' there."

Startled, she looked up at him. "You...mean that?"

"Sure! Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know...I've just...never had anyone to talk to before," Miyo admitted quietly, unsure even in the private sanctuary of her own mind why she released such a piece of information.

Joey shrugged and flashed her a crooked grin that she suddenly realized she found horribly attractive. "Well, now ya got me!"

Despite thinking that Yugi and his whole posse were overly centered on the idea of an everlasting friendship overcoming all obstacles, Miyo could tell that she was on the verge of becoming one of them herself. Horror intermingled with an odd feeling of relief washed over her as she concluded that she could no longer be the quiet girl sitting in the corner. It was time for her to become a strong woman who was confident enough in herself to walk tall, talk to guys, and express herself.

Shyness could have no place in Miyo's life, along with other emotions she considered unnecessary. Crying didn't solve anything, and a smile could be easily faked. Miyo thus didn't understand why people put so much value into such things. Why struggle to make people laugh when they could be laughing at you? Why bother to shed tears over that which you cannot change?

Joey appeared to notice that Miyo simply could not find something to say, and blurted into the silence, "I gotta run an' get the car. I'll be right back, 'kay?"

"Yeah, no problem," Miyo replied instantaneously, too used to being handed an extra hour or two of work and accepting it with a cheery smile. It seemed her work had overlapped into her daily life, altering her personality. Whether the alteration was for the better or the worse was hard to say.

Joey raised his hand in a wave before heading out the door, and Miyo closed it behind him.

_God, _Miyo thought, pressing her back against the door and sliding down towards the floor. _Why do I want him to like me so much? I've never had friends before. Why would this be any different? Why the hell does what he thinks of me even matter? It's not like I'm anything special. _

At that moment, Miyo's phone rang. Making a mental note to figure out how to lower the ring volume from piercingly loud to mediocre, she arose and went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Miyo?"

_Oh, great, _Miyo though, knowing the voice instantly. "Hi, Téa! What's up?" It was hard putting on a cheerful voice when she wanted to smash her fist into all the buttons at once and then hang up, but somehow managed it anyway.

"Are you coming to Yugi's tonight?"

Miyo cast a glance at the clock. She wasn't late; there was a full twenty minutes until the party was supposed to start. "Yes..."

"Oh, good! Well then, you might want to bring either a swimsuit or some clothes you don't mind getting wet."

"W-what?"

"We're going to the beach, since it's so nice out tonight!" Téa exclaimed, clearly not hearing the worry in Miyo's voice.

The beach meant a bathing suit, and that meant a good deal of her body would be exposed. Miyo placed a hand on her stomach. She had at one point sculpted her abs, but hadn't been motivated enough to continue exercising. She was still skinny enough, granted, but there was a better chance of her leaping out of a cake and stripping for Seto Kaiba on his birthday than wearing a bathing suit in front of anyone.

"...Right! Okay. Sounds...fun."

Disappointed and filled with a new sense of fear, Miyo finished the conversation and hung up the phone. Miyo was fine with most things, but when it came down to her body, she lacked a great deal of confidence. She could not name one thing about her body that she liked, but had never addressed the issue and therefore had taken no steps towards becoming less self-conscious.

Miyo dashed upstairs to her bedroom, painfully colliding with the doorframe to her bedroom, and began digging around in her dresser for something to wear. Finally finding a pair of comfy old blue jeans and a t-shirt from a rock concert she went to (although she didn't know why she bothered, considering she was alone), Miyo got dressed and headed towards the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, then headed out into the hallway to grab her gift to Yugi. Seizing a hair binder off the floor, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail (or the closet to one that she could manage with short hair), and let out a sigh upon seeing her reflection in the mirror.

On her way back down the stairs, she heard a knock on her door. The noise startled her, and she missed a step and fell. Her ankle twisted beneath her weight, and she felt a jolt of pain shoot up her leg. "Son of a bitch!" she hissed, picking herself up once she landed with a thump at the bottom.

Knowing it was Joey before even checking, Miyo headed to the door. She paused to reach down and feel her ankle. _Swollen. Damn it. _Miyo pulled open the door and was promptly greeted by Joey's adorable smile. She smiled back, startled by how easy it was, and followed him to the car.

As she climbed into the passenger seat, Joey said, "Sorry 'bout the mess, I didn't have the time ta clean it out very well."

"I don't mind, really," Miyo replied. "It reminds me of my bedroom."

The backseat of the car had random crossword puzzle books, old fast food wrappers, ticket stubs, receipts, a solitary pizza box, and some crushed pop cans.

Joey stole a glance into the rubbish behind him, and chuckled. "I kinda doubt that."

Miyo smirked, and stared out the window for a few minutes as Joey carefully navigated the side streets to Yugi's house. She smiled as she observed he was checking both ways twice before pulling out from a stoplight or stop sign.

"New driva," Joey suddenly explained, sneaking a glance over at Miyo. "Just got a license a couple days ago."

"I could tell...Not in a bad way," she hurriedly added. "You're just being far more careful than a lot of other people I've seen."

"Do you drive?"

Miyo nodded. "My mom has the car right now, though. We kind of share it. I help her make the payments since she..." Miyo trailed off, startled at how much information she had almost released about her dysfunctional family.

"This is actually my mom's car, she jus' kinda gave it ta me when she left my dad."

Miyo glanced over at him, but he was concentrating on the road and didn't meet her eyes. _He's talking to me like he's my friend. Weird._

"I'm sorry...I didn't know."

"Eh, s'alright. I'm just so used ta her bein' gone that it doesn't bother me anymore," he replied casually.

They continued the ride to Yugi's house smoothly and without much more conversation. Joey parked on the street in front of the Game Shop, and turned to Miyo. "Don't worry. You're gonna like Yuug's grandpa. He's a real nice guy, and he'll be glad ta meet ya."

"Thanks for trying to make this less...weird."

"Not a problem, Miyo."

Miyo smiled without really meaning to. There was something about hearing him say her name that made her unexplainably cheery.

They approached the door, and Joey pulled it open without even knocking, proof of how welcome he had become there.

Miyo felt as though she was a squid in a tank of goldfish. Yugi's closest friends were there. Téa, Tristan, Bakura, and Joey were all close friends who had been through a lot. Looking around, she realized that Yugi was thus far absent from the party.

This was quickly explained when Téa rushed over, her hair held back by a shiny tinsel headband. Miyo found it hard to concentrate on what she was saying, as the lights on the ceiling reflected off the headband whenever Téa bobbed her head.

"Alright, Grandpa Moto had Yugi run an errand, so he should be back soon. When he gets back, we're going to leap out and yell 'Happy Birthday.' Sound good?"

Miyo tore her eyes away from the tinsel. "Yeah! That sounds good," Miyo replied, regurgitating the same line Téa had said seconds before.

The other girl appeared not to notice Miyo's lack of enthusiasm. "So, you hide behind the couch over there, and we'll wait for him to get back!"

Miyo nodded and headed over to the couch. She knelt behind it, and winced when she moved her right foot. She glanced down at her ankle, and pressed her hand to the flesh. She clenched her teeth at the sharp pain, and raised her pant leg to get a better look.

On the side of her ankle was a blossoming plum colored bruise. Her whole ankle and down onto her foot was swollen and red. As she heard footsteps approaching, Miyo quickly recovered her composure and jerked her pants back down to cover the telltale sprain.

Joey crouched beside her. "Feelin' awkward yet?"

Miyo forced a smile, subtly shifting her position so that no weight was being put on her injury. "A little. I feel like such a stranger here."

"Don't worry," Joey repeated. "You'll fit in right away."

A moment later, the door swung open. In unison, or close to it, everyone sprang up and cried out, "Happy birthday!"

Miyo swayed and slammed her hand down on the back of the couch for support, trying as hard as she possibly could to maintain a happy smile.

Yugi's face expressed his joy and surprise that his friends had gone through such trouble to make his birthday fun, but Miyo couldn't help but notice that his eyes widened a bit when he noticed that she was there. As he turned his attention to Téa and Tristan, Miyo slumped slightly. Joey thumped her on her shoulder reassuringly, and her weight shifted to her right foot. She winced audibly, and Joey turned and looked at her, concern reflected in his eyes.

"You alright?"

"Yes," Miyo replied, rather unconvincingly. "I'm fine."

"I've heard enough lies ta know one when I hear one," Joey replied expressionlessly. "Your ankle's hurt?"

Miyo broke eye contact and focused on a loose string from off the couch, not replying. To admit an to an injury would mean giving in to the pain, which was something Miyo did not do easily. "No..."

"Bad liar," Joey accused, stepping forwards and easily lifting her in his arms. "Ya shoulda said somethin' earlier, Miyo."

"You can put me down!" Miyo hissed, her face coloring. "I can walk!"

Joey caught sight of her flushing cheeks and smiled. So she _did_ get embarrassed after all.

Joey went over to Yugi, explained the situation (all the while holding a rather miffed Miyo), and then headed out towards his car.

"Where are we going?" Miyo asked quietly after he had finished helping her into the car (her protests saying that she could do it by herself fell of deaf ears).

"Hospital," he replied shortly, sliding the keys into the ignition.

"Great."

_On the bright side, the party was only awkward for a little while_, Miyo thought sullenly as she watched the road whiz past her window. _And something tells me it's going to get worse as soon as we get to the hospital. _

Miyo was in for an interesting night.

**END CHAPTER**

I have discovered several things tonight.

Firstly, my kitchen counter is exactly the right height so that if I lean against it when it's wet, I get a water line across my upper thigh. Secondly, it's just _low_ enough that it makes my lower back hurt to wash the dishes in the sink. And thirdly, chewing gobstoppers is a bad idea because it makes my teeth hurt.

It's a tragedy.

Review me!


	7. A Shattered Illusion

Authoress here.

I should be asleep or something like that, but for some reason, I'm not.

Whoo, huge time gap between updates!

**START CHAPTER**

Miyo was vaguely surprised that the emergency room staff was making such a big deal out of her ankle being injured. Joey had picked her up and brought her inside, and she had immediately been placed on a rolling stretcher and had a doctor holding her leg down, and a nurse trying to take her temperature with a plastic thermometer.

She twisted her head away from the persistent woman. "I don't have a fever, I have a hurt ankle! Get that damn thing out of my face!" she added, sitting up and knocking the nurse's hand away.

"Proper procedure," the woman insisted firmly, and promptly stuffed the thermometer into Miyo's moth when she opened it to protest.

Miyo was the pressed down onto the stretcher and wheeled off to a room. Joey watched her go for just a moment before following after her.

Finally, an hour and a half later, a doctor was in Miyo's room to explain the situation.

"Well, Miss Yutaka, it would seem that you have only strained your ankle." The doctor was in his mid thirties, a scruffy blonde fellow with a warm smile. "You'll need to keep it wrapped and ice it whenever you can, but you'll be up and walking normally in about two weeks. Until then, you're going to have to be careful. Avoid putting too much stress on the muscles, or you'll re-injure yourself. High heeled shoes are an absolute no-go."

Miyo's jaw dropped, and as though she had ignored the second half of his speech, repeated in disbelief, "Two _weeks_?"

"Ya should be glad it's not broken, Miyo," Joey remarked, causing Miyo's attention to shift from the apologetic doctor to the teen.

She sighed in reply. "I...guess you're right, Joey. It's just going to be hard, that's all."

"Why's that?"

Fidgeting with the bed sheets, Miyo's eyes were on her hands as she replied. "Some...most...of the people at Kaiba Corp. already look down on me. I can't show any weakness."

"Bein' hurt's not the same as bein' weak. What don't kill ya makes ya stronger."

Even with the brutal mutilation of the phrase due to Joey's accent, Miyo got the point he was trying to make.

"All the same, I'm the youngest person who works there. Everyone knows who I am. Everyone who works below me tries their best to make my job hell. Having a bad ankle is just going to make it easier for them."

Somewhere in the midst of their conversation, the doctor had ambled out to leave them alone. Miyo was grateful. This was getting a little more private that she had thought. She had never spilled her feelings to anyone before, so the entire ordeal felt strange to her.

"Eh, they're just jealous that someone as young as you can be so high up in da company," Joey reasoned.

Miyo forced a chuckle.

Joey frowned and perched on the edge of the bed. Miyo turned her head away, overwhelmed. She had only meant to use Yugi's friends in order to put herself ahead in life. She had not counted on something like this. Something this _real_. She had never predicted, in her previous calculations, that any of Yugi's friends, or even the duel master himself, would ever really care about her.

As Joey reached over to place a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, not truly understanding what thoughts had caused her expression to become so pained, Miyo pulled away. Her relationships with people in her life had never been very physical. The hugs and kisses of her happy childhood had ceased at the same time the arguments began, and she had grown up to be rather used to the coldness. Being touched was altogether foreign to her, and coupled with her present thoughts, caused the feelings of guilt in her heart to rise painfully.

Oddly enough, however, the very last thing she wanted was for Joey to misinterpret her actions and feel that he was unwanted in her room. Right now, she wanted terribly for someone to be there with her. Her own fear of being alone scared her.

Joey hesitated, then reached across the bed and again touched her shoulder, this time a bit more forcefully, so she could not break away from him. "I might not have da best intuition, but even I can tell that there's somethin' other than a bum ankle screwin' wit' your job buggin' you right now."

Miyo was startled. Guilt made her honest, and she nodded mutely.

"Whateva it is, ya can tell me."

Miyo blanched noticeably, her hands tightening on the coarse bed sheets.

"S'alright," Joey said reassuringly, having no way of knowing what he was asking her to confess. "That's what friends are for, right?"

His words pierced through her like a hot knife through butter. For the first time in a long time, multiple hot tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm a bad person, Joey," she choked, dashing the drops from her eyes with stubborn fists.

"Miyo-"

"No," she interrupted. "I _am _a bad person, Joey. Seto Kaiba asked me to get close to Yugi so he could get that last Blue Eyes card. He found a way to fix it, and he wants to beat Yugi once and for all. I didn't mean for it to go this far. I didn't think that it would."

Joey was mute, listening to her words and watching the tears streak down her cheeks. She scrubbed them away as if they burned her flesh.

"I never thought that I would like any of you. I'm...not good with people. But more and more, I can't keep up the act. I can't pretend anymore, Joey," she said miserably. "I...don't want this to end. This friendliness, I mean. I..."

The grip Joey had on her shoulder had loosened, and he still held his silence.

The white noise in the room was suddenly deafening. A machine beeped quietly where it stood in the corner. A patient on the opposite side of the room, previously unnoticed, coughed softly and shifted in his bed. The slapping noise of soft white nurse's shoes echoed down the hallway.

"Ya used us?" Joey asked, his voice deadly quiet. "Ya just wanted to get that card for Kaiba?"

"Initially, yes," Miyo admitted, her voice muffled by the bed sheets she had pulled over her face to wipe her eyes. "But I –"

"Miyo, I'm sorry, I can't hear any more of dis. You betrayed our trust. All of us."

The accusation shot through her like a bullet, and Miyo unconsciously pulled her arms around herself in a desperate attempt to shield herself from the pain.

"G'bye, Miyo. Get well soon." His words were probably sincere, but the kind intention was not in his eyes. Cold and hard, he gazed at her with a mix of sorrow and horror.

Miyo opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. Joey shook his head sadly, turned his back to her, and exited her room without another word.

The next day in school, everything was back to what Miyo had dubbed 'normal' before the entire episode.

Silence.

Yugi had spoken to her a few times in a careful, polite voice, thanking her for coming and for the gift. Téa frowned at her a few times like a disappointed mother. Tristan and Bakura avoided conversation.

Joey avoided her in general.

Miyo sighed inwardly as class began, and forced herself to look as though this lesson was the single most interesting thing in the world. Due to a recent stomach flu epidemic at work, Miyo had been called in today the moment she was off school. It has been some time since Seto Kaiba had checked in with her about her progress. She wondered absently how he would react when she told him that everything had fallen through. Her mind was so wrapped in worry that she scarcely heard the teacher ask her a question.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that please?"

"I _said_," the teacher began, clearly irritated, "Can you tell me who this picture is of?"

Miyo's eyes followed the teacher's pointed finger to the overhead projector. "Yes, that's Peter the Great."

"And which country was he so 'great' in?"

"Russia," Miyo replied, trying to veil her irritation. This particular teacher was notorious for trying to catch her students when they hadn't been paying attention. Thankfully, Miyo had read that particular chapter the night before and was well versed in its contents.

"Good," she replied unconvincingly, and plowed on with her lesson.

Miyo, without pausing to think about the repercussions of her action, turned her head ever so slightly to look at Joey.

The stony silence from him had hurt far worse than anything else that had happened to her thus far. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. His gaze lingered on her a moment before her turned his attention back to the board.

Miyo turned her stinging eyes down to her notebook, and blinked rapidly. Crying would be one thing, but crying in school was another entirely...especially if it was in front of Yugi or his friends.

The instant class was over, Miyo practically ran for the door. As she passed Yugi, his eyes followed her face. Feeling his gaze, Miyo turned her head a fraction towards him. She instantly wished she hadn't. His eyes, large and brimming with childlike innocence, burned into Miyo's heart.

With a visible wince, Miyo tore her eyes from his and darted from the room.

Watching until she was gone, Yugi turned to Joey. "Did she apologize to you?"

Uncomfortably, Joey replied, "Not really...but I was so mad I think I cut her off before she had a chance to." Turning to his friend, he added, "I could tell she was sorry, though... I've neva seen that girl cry before. I remember back when we were kids, she was in our class. They told her that her grandpa had died during math, and she was so calm. She just picked up her things and followed the guy outta the room."

Tristan nodded, his mind too flashing back on the memory. "And when she broke her arm during gym, she just got up and walked herself to the nurse's office."

"She's had the perfect poker face until now," Bakura remarked, copying Tristan's nod. "I would wager that she regrets everything she's done if this event triggered such a strong reaction. The only way to be sure, though, is to hear what she says when none of us are around."

"What she says ta Kaiba."

"Precisely," Bakura affirmed.

**END CHAPTER**

It should really be my bedtime right about now. Unfortunately, my older sister is showering in the bathroom my contact stuff is in. Woe is me.

See ya next chapter!


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